The biggest surprise to me was Eduardo Escobar landing in AAA. The slick fielding shortstop played 49 games with the Barons last year and hit just .262 with an OPS south of .700. That said, he impressed Ozzie Guillen among others this spring.

On the mound, the Dash boasts a pair of top 30 prospects in the starting rotation. Brazilian right-hander Andre Rienzo was one of Kannapolis’ best starters last year, going 8-4 with a 3.65 ERA and holding opponents to two runs or fewer in each of his last ten starts. Rienzo is ranked by Baseball America as the 25th best prospect in the White Sox farm system. RHP Cameron Bayne was 29th on that list after finishing 2010 12-9 with a 3.60 ERA and 101 strikeouts last season for the Intimidators. Bayne and Rienzo should be joined in the rotation by RHP Terry Doyle, LHP Hector Santiago, RHP Justin Collop, and possibly LHP Joe Serafin.

The Brazilian righty [Andre Rienzo] is going to pitch in Winston-Salem this year and can arguably still be called a sleeper. He’s still flying mostly under the radar despite having the best statistical season of any White Sox minor league starter in 2010. Given the comparison to De Los Santos (and previous trades of Dan Hudson and Brandon McCarthy) it’s almost too obvious to say he could be trade bait. However, the fact that the Sox took it slowly with him last year compared to those three could be a sign that they intend to keep him instead of inflating his value for a trade.

We believed Chris Sale was the best college arm available in the 2010 draft. His 2010 College Performance score trailed only Texas A&M’s Barrett Loux. So we were as shocked as the White Sox likely were when he was still available at #13. The Sox fast-tracked Sale to the Big Leagues in a relief role, and he only continued to make favorable impressions once arriving—ending the season as the team’s best option at closer. Coming out of the bullpen allowed Sale to consistently throw his fastball in the mid-90s—a few ticks higher than he had worked as a starter. The relief work also allowed him to focus on his slider—the pitch that offered greatest concerns coming into the draft. What the bullpen did not allow him to do was showcase his plus-plus change—the pitch that is the main reason why we believe that he is ideally suited for a starting role.

At a slight 6’6”, we believe Sale could ‘beef-up’ and work in the mid-90s as a front of the rotation starter with a solid three-pitch repertoire. Unfortunately, word out of Chicago is that Sale is likely to once again find himself in the bullpen in 2011. This isn’t a two-pitch Neftali Feliz, that we advocated a bullpen role for. Therein lies the paradox with the White Sox decision to make a run at the Central division in 2011—as it likely means that Sale is the de facto closer vs. working on being a difference maker at the top of the rotation. Still just 21yo, the White Sox are unlikely to harm his development in any significant way, but this is a special arm that should be developed as such.

1. Chris Sale / SP/RP / Sale is a tenacious competitor who belongs in the rotation long term. He displays great movement and strong command of an impressive three-pitch mix. He is far and away Chicago’s best prospect.

The rest at the link. It also lists the Top 10 White Sox players under the age of 26.